I'm not a pitbull owner, but love the breed...

I know in my co-op, we aren't aloud Pitbulls, Dobermans or Rotties. Which really sucks because I was going to adopt a old rottie girl before she passed a way. Same with the 3 co-ops that I live near. Though a lot of the houses you can rent around allow Pitbulls only if you have them muzzled when outside (as is the law in Toronto now *sigh*)

 

I'm currently living with my parents because of the fact I own a Pit Bull.

I've been searching for a while now to find an apartment or house to rent that is reasonable and it seems impossible to find one. What's worse for me is the fact I've put sooooo much time into Nubs for obedience and manors and yet still can't even get people to as much as give me the time of day. It doesn't help I live in a smaller city and am looking to stay in a 20min drive of my work.

The thing I've been told is look for independent landlords not big apartment complexes as independent landlords are more likely to bend rules once they meet your dog. Also you get more replies for the words "Terrier" and leaving off the "Pit Bull" part of it. I've been posting on Craigslist for an apartment. I've gotten 2 or 3 replies from real people and about 30 from spam *rolls eyes*.

Good luck.

 

The thing I've been told is look for independent landlords not big apartment complexes as independent landlords are more likely to bend rules once they meet your dog. Also you get more replies for the words "Terrier" and leaving off the "Pit Bull" part of it. I've been posting on Craigslist for an apartment. I've gotten 2 or 3 replies from real people and about 30 from spam *rolls eyes*.

Good luck.

Yeah I could potentially (on a technicality) get away with Bridgette because I have her official adoption certificate that states she is a border collie mix. This is what I adopted her as and if I didn't know any better I might well believe it haha! I doubt I'd go off of that though. She could probably pass for a Dalmatian mix too. Brody, on the other hand, is probably more like an AmStaff mix over an APBT, but don't think he could pass for much else if they wanted to be sure....I'd have to go with terrier.

It is really frustrating that they are GOOD dogs and that doesn't matter.

 

I don't currently own a 'dangerous' breed and this is why, actually. I don't want a pit bull but rather a shepherd yet it's impossible to find a place to rent with one around here (or a pit bull, or dobe, or rottie). I know people that rent on other forums with pitties, dobes, GSDs, etc with no problems but I have looked and looked around here and can't find a single place that takes those breeds. I guess a lot depends on the area. I'm going to assume since I live in a college town people assume owners of BSL type breeds are gangbanger teens and young adults that are irresponsible. In fact when I rented the last time, I asked what breeds were banned and I was told 'Just vicious breeds like pit bulls, rottweilers, doberman and german shepherds, but I doubt you'll be wanting one of those. You don't strike me as the type.' I guess it's because I'm short, I don't know!

Until I own my own home I'll just have to hold off on the GSd ownership.

Wish you all the luck in finding a place!

 

I rent with a full pit bull.

but, I rent from an individual, not a company, so its more personal.

if you find an opening that will let you have them, SNAP it up. QUICK.

there are many other pit owners out there looking.

 

We don't have a pit bull but are looking to adopt an american bulldog from a local shelter and are so glad that we own our own home.I could never rent I just don't think I could stand having someone tell me what to do in my home KWIM.

 

I own my home...and what pushed my husband and I to buy was the fact that we at the time had a very large male dobie

I know of very few (3) apartment complexes that take large breed dogs or "dangerous" dogs with in 50 miles of my home...but I still did not want to take the chance

I would have a very hard time going back to renting an apartment....I would probably do what zim said and try to rent from a private party....ether a town home or a SFH

 

I own a Pit Bull and after having to look for places to rent I found that very few property management companies and apartment complexes allow "dangerous" breeds. Private owner rentals are more understanding on the subject. I hope you have good luck with your rental search. I agree that owning a home is much better, but sometimes it can't be done.

 

Sorry I'm no help, I own my house. Good luck in your search though!!

 

Hi. My husband and I rent an apartment in an old house was converted to 4 units. When we moved here we had 2 boxers, then one of the boxers died. We bought a pitbull which was advertised as a american bull dog. My landlord didn't have a problem with having a pitbull. It is the insurance companies who put the squash on pits.She looks like a pit/lab mix and that is how she is listed. When we went house hunting the doors were slammed in our faces OR we were told you will have to pay the home owners portion regarding pets,plus 1 st, last and security deposits and 825 per dog. So we are going to stay where we are until we are able to buy a house. My pit is not violent, shows no violent tendencies unless wagging her tail and lapping you is considered violent. I think people don't train their dogs properly, like that football player who abused his pit bulls to become fighter dogs. People like him and people who have pitt bulls and are in gangs and mistreat the dog gives a great breed a bad name. Any dog can become mean and bite It is all in the owner and if the dog is treated with love, kindness, trained well there are no problems. It is all in the people who own pitbulls. My little pit is a darling loving dog and she is quite smart

 

Same around here , all over , private house or apt. To much bad media and the insurance companies pick up on it and wont allow for liability reasons.

It is the insurance companies who put the squash on pits.She looks like a

 

We rent on a military base, and there are no pitbull or staffie mixes allowed. That was a problem for me when looking for a dog, because I wanted to rescue, but after going around all the shelters in the area (there were 4), about 90% of the dogs there were a pitbull or staffie mix. I guess people moving here have just thrown their dog into the shelters in a lot of cases, when they find they can't have them here. It made me sad, but obviously I couldn't take any of them at that time. I know my husband would like one though, so maybe in the future when we move from here we could. There is very little chance of them being adopted, especially as byb's seem to be a big thing in the surrounding towns, and I have seen several pitbull mix litters advertised.

In answer to your question... No pitbulls where we rent. But I believe the rented military housing off-base, in the town, may allow them.

 

Depends on the market....Here, right now, there are tons of vacancies. Landlords are willing to bend if you have good credit and a good payment history.

 

I own my home........

However, I work for the Animal Shelter. One of our requirements for adoption IF you rent is that we need to see a lease agreement and be able to contact the landlord by phone. One of the biggest reasons pets are dumped or returned to us after adoption is because the landlord won't allow them. We have mostly Pits and Pit Mixes in our shelters. We contact a lot of landlords and if we even mention the word Pit or Pit Mix it's usually a very swift NO! Mostly from the property management companies or people renting on a Military Base. I only know of 3 apartment complexes in town that allow Pits/mixes and they need to meet the pets first. We do however, get some (very few) individual landlords that don't care what breed of dog people get just as long as they pay their pet deposits. Like everyone else said you will probably be better off going to an individual that is renting because they maybe more willing to bend the rules.

I wish you Luck in your search!

 

What I've done is when I was looking at larger complexes I first looked for a complex that allowed a dog over 50lbs. i just temporarily ignored the other info (dangerous breed, etc..). Then if I choose to look at the complex, I talked to them in person about my dog and I brought a picture too. That seemed to help because I did find a place to live, granted it took awhile though.

When I was looking for quadraplexes and small complexes I looked for ones that were advertised as pets on a case by case basis. if the general advertisement said "no dangerous breeds" but i liked the look/description of the apartment in the advertisement, I would go ahead and schedule an appointment to look anyways and THEN talk to them about my dog, and I brought a picture with me too.

Also when I asked my first landlord about pets, i did it over the phone before I looked at places because I didn't know to do it any other way, all she asked was if I had a big or small dog and I said he's about 50lbs and she said ok. and that was it. she never asked me the about breed or anything, she just wanted to know if he was big or small.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys! Very helpful!

I've been trying to stick with private owners and such. Our reason for moving is to have a fenced back yard so we are definitely not looking for an apartment.

It's not an urgent need to move because Alex's parents own this place and we live here rent free. It's awesome, but it's pretty expensive and they are hoping to sell it asap. They won't be selling it if we don't find a place, which is great!

We'll see though. We are planning on moving to a different city in a year so we may just be sticking it out here until that time if something doesn't come along. When we move to Phoenix we are probably going to look into rent-own or buying a house...I can't stand this renting nonsense either! LOL

ETA: So I have, however, talked to two different people with awesome deals on a house and both didn't mind the dogs......but they did not bend the rules for cats!! Crazy! (I should have said they were declawed...they're not, but I doubt they'd have check...weird)

 

Home owner here

I think renting really depends on the area. It can be easier with an independent land lord but that certainly isn't a guarantee. Some still won't accept certain breeds, certain sizes or allow dogs at all. Sometimes their insurance is what keeps them from having specific breeds allowed.

I know many that do successfully rent with this breed.

 

So I am going to look at a house on Thursday which I am pretty excited about. It's actually less than we were expecting to pay and has a fully fenced yard!

I talked to the owner and he didn't seem to care how many pets we had or what sizes/breeds! I am pretty psyched! It's even in an area we were really hoping to find something in. There's only one other person interested, but he said they didn't seem that interested! Wish us luck...I hope we love it!

 

Oh that's great! Good luck!

 

I own a pitbull and I own my house. I have heard that some insurance agencies will raise your rates if you own a "dangerous breed", so we had to call ours before we adopted Hailey. Luckily, they don't care what kind of breed of dog we own. In fact, our agent owns a "dangerous breed" of dog as well

 

I think it helps if your dog or dogs have a CGC and even better therapy dog registered. I have heard of several people that have gotten in that way. It sort of proves that your dog is capable of being well mannered and social. I also think how you approach people makes a huge difference.

 

I definitely agree with this. We really want to get Bridgette her CGC at some point in the future and start working with Brody. At this point she's not quite there yet, but I am betting it helps a lot with renting!!

 

I rent, and our complex is pretty strict on rules. It's a company rather than individual, and we aren't allowed to own a dog that's over 35 lbs or any aggressive breeds. It isn't really an issue for us, since Basil is a Papillon, and we want to get a Corgi in the future. However, I have seen a couple of GSDs being walked around, but it may just be different rules for different "sub" complexes. There are about a dozen or so mini-complexes within the entire complex, and each has slightly different rules, for instance, only two sub-complexes allow the rentors to be under 21, and a lot of them don't allow pets at all. Luckily for me, the 18+ ones happen to allow pets, too =D (I'm 18 and my boyfriend is 19, so 21+ wouldn't exactly work out for us!) It's all rather complicated here XD

Anyways, so I've a question for all you pitbull owners/rentors... Have any of you tried passing your dog off as a Boxer or a Dalmation mix or something? I doubt they'll be ordering any blood tests to prove that you aren't lying, just like they certainly aren't going to weigh my Papillon to prove that he's under 35 lbs. But really, a lot of pitbulls I've seen might easilly be passed off as Boxer/Lab, or Terrier/Great Dane mixes or something. Do you think it would work? If it did, it certainly might prevent a lot of grief. CrzyBrit, you could tell people that Brody is a Boston Terrier/Great Dane mix if you don't mind a few raised eyebrows, lol! XD

 

Anyways, so I've a question for all you pitbull owners/rentors... Have any of you tried passing your dog off as a Boxer or a Dalmation mix or something? I doubt they'll be ordering any blood tests to prove that you aren't lying, just like they certainly aren't going to weigh my Papillon to prove that he's under 35 lbs. But really, a lot of pitbulls I've seen might easilly be passed off as Boxer/Lab, or Terrier/Great Dane mixes or something. Do you think it would work? If it did, it certainly might prevent a lot of grief. CrzyBrit, you could tell people that Brody is a Boston Terrier/Great Dane mix if you don't mind a few raised eyebrows, lol! XD

I understand where you are coming from, but personally I am PROUD to be an owner of a Pit Bull and I refuse to hide the fact that he is what he is. To someone uneducated Nubs can pass for a Boxer just because of his tail. The issue then stems from what to do when someone calls you out on it, and trust me they will.

You are better off not lying from the start. That way there is no chance of drama in the future and your not kicked out of your home for breaking your lease.

 

The town we previously lived in is very liberal and we ran into a lot of rental places/apartments that couldn't have cared less about pit bulls. I don't own a pit bull, but I'm dying for one and have been for a while, and asked at every place in case we decided to adopt.

Now, in our home town, we find they're NOT very open to pits to say the least. Luckily, we bought our house, so a pit might be back in my life shortly.

 

I would like to inject some thought strictly for an honest exchange of view. I was thinking of starting a separate thread titled, The American Pit Bull the Devil Dog??. I would like to express what I feel many dog owners feel if not the majority but would not come out candid and say.

In my opinion the dog as well as the owners share equally responsibility for the tearing the face off a child , or putting the mail man in the hospital, or killing some ones beloved small dog. Have you ever asked yourself why the military, Police, do not prefer using APBT for guard or police work duty. The dog can be plain unpredictable, and very easy to bring out their bad side. When the Germans developed the German Breeds they did a wonderfull job of developing a breed dog that is both courageous, very predictable, and can change handles with out much problems.

In todays paper there is a for sale APBT $100, no papers. So how many people will have your expertise and purchase these dogs, and how many people that like the fighting instinct these dog have and bring it out at dog parks and the like.

What I am getting at, I love dogs but getting a little pissed off at the APBT for bringing down all the large breeds that do not deserve the reputation the PB are giving them. I know how many times I hear it the owner never the dog, but with that said these dog were breed to fight and kill and it is easy to bring that instnict out even without special skills. This is why idiots like the dog owner that attacked the mail man was able to make a bad breed act bad. How often compared to dobbies, GS, do you hear an idiot owner able to train the dog to kill other dogs for fun and attack human. I am sorry I was always indifferent to the breed, but bringing down other breeds I have come to love, makes me angry the breed was ever developed.

An honest opinion from a dog person, not a dog owner!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I would like to express what I feel many dog owners feel if not the majority but would not come out candid and say.

This is why idiots like the dog owner that attacked the mail man was able to make a bad breed act bad.

As a pit bull owner, I would like to say that the breed does have certain issues, such as being dog aggressive. But lots of breeds have issues. In every breed there are the good dogs and the bad dogs.
Also, did you watch the video of the guy who's pit bulls attacked the mail man? That guy could've made any dog attack someone. He was an example of a horrendous owner, who in turn created some horrendous dogs.
Also, you asked about movies with pit bulls. Homeward Bound has an American Bulldog (which is not the same as an American Pit Bull Terrier, but a lot of people, and probably you as well, cannot tell the difference). The dog from the Little Rascals was an APBT. Those are two off the top of my head.

 

Hmmm, and here I was thinking most police people didn't use pit bulls because they were lousy guard dogs. Most pits are WAY too friendly for that kind of work. But you see them in SAR and other work like drug sniffing.

Now, I'm not going to say that all pits are nice and bred properly because like any breed, they're not, but this really isn't what the thread is about. You know, once upon a time, German Shepherds were the 'evil' breed according to the public. I owned one during that time and they still have a lot of reputation problems due to THAT time. I don't think the German Shepherd's bad reputation has a thing to do with pit bulls. German Shepherds had a bad reputation back when pit bulls were known as nanny dogs. The bad rap pits have is a lot newer.

I remember back then we had a GSD and one of his playmates was a pit bull that lived next door. Guess which one most people were scared of...

 

laurelin, wish you can be more specific what time frame the German Shepherd had the reputation such as the pit bull, "Once upon a time" lol sounds like a fairy tale to me. I remember Rin Tin Tin, and Bullet, Roy Rogers dog as a kid, and the "terminator" , the sheperd was always portrayed as the hero. Was there ever a movie about hero pit bull?

But thats not the point, pit bulls are bringing down alot of breeds that do not deserve the bad rap the PB are taging on to them.

And I apologize for changing the talking point of the thread, but since alot of the most prominent PB owners were here.....

 

Thank you Darkmoon. I very much agree!

Was there ever a movie about hero pit bull?

And to answer this question. Absolutely yes. The original Petey from Little Rascals (AKA the dog who hung out with small children ALL day and was extremely famous in his time) was an American Pit Bull Terrier. Petey the APBT

And this site lists several more famous and loved APBTs. Famous APBTs


And to Nargle, I will be 100 percent honest and say it sometimes crosses my mind to change the breeds of my dogs for this reason. Like Darkmoon, I AM proud to own the breed I do...I just wish people could be less ignorant. It's sad and unfortunate. I do have Bridgette in my work (the vet) computer as a Border Collie Mix, but that's only because it's what her original adoption paperwork says....well she is black and white...and that's her only border collie likeness haha!

 

Um... Excuse me? How dare you come into a thread that you know is full of Pit Bull owners and tear down the breed like it was nothing?

Other breeds don't deserve the rap that Pit Bulls put on them???? How about every other breed of dog that has been called a Pit Bull when it attacked someone only a matter of days later to be called a "Lab" or "Collie mix" or "boxer" or "Mastiff"? How about those breeds and those owners that decided that just because they are big and bit someone they are a Pit Bull! Every time I see an article in the paper or on TV about a "Pit Bull" I ask "So what breed was it really?" In my city alone, in a 3 month period 7 "Pit Bulls" were shot and killed by officers. Most of the owners have stepped forward and guess what? They weren't Pit Bulls. 2 of them were Boxer/mastiffs, one was an Aussie mix, 1 was a full brindle boxer, and one was a plan old mutt. 2 were Pit bulls, that some jerk dumped them and they were killing livestock for food.

It's not Pit Bulls that are the issue, it's their damn owners and people who have no clue what a Pit Bull is. Remember THERE IS NO BREED CALLED A PIT BULL!!! The breed is American Pit Bull Terrier. Pit bulls are a GROUP of about 15 different breeds.

Also you ask why Pit Bulls aren't used by the Police? They are used by the police. The newest Police dog for the Chicago Police department is a Pit Bull by the name of Elliot Ness : http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6625698

Oh.. and Pit Bulls are used for Search and Rescue too. They were hand chosen to work on the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster to find the remains of the astronauts. http://www.forpitssake.org/sar.html

I think you need to read up on the breed for once and learn Fact from Fiction.

 

I was really surprised when we signed our current lease and it stated no "dangerous breeds". I wasn't raised with breed discrimination and thought it must be something peculiar to this agency -- how the world has changed.

With pets in general, I've had better luck with individuals rather than agencies.

I also like the CGC and therapy dog ideas that Inga suggested. I'm planning on doing both of those with Ruby and I think they open a lot of doors for any dog.